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Hi! In October 2010, I moved from San Francisco to Manhattan with my husband, daughter, and twin boys. Since then I've been busy teaching myself and my kids how to hail a cab, fly a kite in Central Park, and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with style. And a few other things. I write about those other things here. Thanks for stopping by!
Email questions to sharonbeesley@gmail.com.

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5/1/12

Boys Weekend vs Girls Weekend. Who won?

The island of Manhattan is 13.4 miles long, and 2.3 miles wide at its widest point. Since we don't have a car, we rarely venture out of those parameters. Last weekend, the island suddenly became too small for my husband Rob.

He woke up, and said, "I NEED to get out of the city! Let's go to Upstate or New Jersery or somewhere!"

I opened up my iCalender and looked for an open weekend and said, "We can't do this weekend, and not the next. How about three weeks from now?"

"No no no, this isn't something we plan, we just go. NOW!"

But my Saturday was already booked. I had a brunch with friends and later that night I had my last photography class. I had been looking forward to those things for weeks. Ella had plans, too. She had a best friend's birthday party Saturday afternoon! The girls wanted to stay in the city.

Rob was determined, so he came up with the idea to have an urban adventure with his sons. And that's how the Girls vs. Boys weekend was born.

They ventured off to the nearest and cheapest hotel with an indoor swimming pool in New Jersey. It took them 3 hours on public transportation to get there! Once they eventually arrived at the hotel, they ate tons of junk food, watched Family Guy (I never let them!), swam constantly, went to the zoo, bought hideous costumes at Toys R Us, and stayed up late.

Our girl's weekend wasn't so shabby either. On top of my brunch and my photo class and Ella's party, we got our nails done, split a giant cupcake, had dinner at Chelsea Market, and saw the Lorax in 3D. Ella also got a bonus sleepover with her cousin.

I totally think girls won! Although I am competing with a zoo and a pool. Tough call.

Have you ever gone on separate vacations within your family? And then got overly competitive about who's having the most fun? Ha, we would never . . .

The weekend actually turned out really great. My favorite part was listening to everyone's stories at the dinner table on Sunday night. Everyone was talking at once. The house was alive with energy! While I adore spending time together as a family, it was an unexpected treat to get a break from everyone. Great idea Rob.

Near the end. So tired!

Officially out.

More pictures of the boy's adventure after the jump. I can always gauge Rob's happiness by the amount of pictures he takes. He took 31 pictures over weekend. That's an astounding amount for him!

Owen hasn't taken this costume off since Saturday.

Oscar brought this to school on Monday to show off his fencing skills.

That's too cute! I loved having girls weekend with my mom as a kid, we would go shopping together and just have fun. And I remember my dad taking my brother one weekend away too, it's nice to have one on one time sometimes with a parent.

Also, where did you get those awesome floaties for the boys? I NEED them! They are so cool!

Amazing! I LOVE the pictures of your boys - those swim contraptions are amazing and seeing them laying on the bed in their undies watching the computer is hilarious! This sounds like an awesome weekend. Good thinking, Dad!

Your boys are seriously the cutest things I've ever seen! I'm gonna have to say it was a tie. Both weekends sound perfectly perfect! Girls doing girly things and boys getting into trouble with dad! What a weekend.

Your family just gets cooler and cooler. I have loved your blog and have shared it with many people. You inspire so many of us. I just wanted to let you know that I found out I am having identical boy twins. I am one of the two that wrote you a few weeks back really nervous and you totally eased those worries. I have a 18 (now 20) month old daughter so it looks like it will be the same situation as you guys. My husband and I are thrilled. Thanks for all your wonderful, creative post!